Choosing a gaming system is about understanding your gaming needs

Navigating the vast &eld of gaming-grade systems can be a mind-boggling task, but with a little bit of know-how, it’s actually easy to &nd what you need to suit your gaming needs.

Gaming systems are the newest trend for PC manufacturers, and we’re not just talking about a new model or two. In additional to traditional gamingcentric brands such as Alienware and Razer, almost every other brand has launched dedicated gaming sub-brands with a whole slew of models and devices: ASUS has ROG, Gigabyte has Aorus, HP has Omen, Lenovo has Legion…you get the drift.

Now, for PC gamers, there’s little doubt that the do-it-yourself route has always presented the ultimate in value and exibility, but it may not always be the most feasible. The cost of technology has also come down quite a bit, and purpose-built gaming PCs are no longer that hard to come by. And as manufacturers start to put in more e ort in developing dedicated gaming machines, you do get better integration, with features that are actually useful and a boatload of options that suit everyone from casual all the way to the hardcore and PC enthusiast geek.

Often, the trouble is in nding the right balance between price and performance. It’s easy to get carried away with the latest advancements or excessive future-proong. On the other hand, mismatched components may wind up giving you more trouble than it’s worth.

With that in mind, we decided to address the core need of why you’re buying a gaming PC in the rst place. So this feature isn’t straight up about buying 'X' product, but rather, what kind of system would work for your needs. (Ifyou’reactuallylookingforbuying recommendation,we'vegotaSlim GamingNotebookshootoutinthis veryissue.–ed.)